Page 8 of Reign
“Put me down, Dario Roselli. I didn’t even have time to shut the fucking door to my car before you came storming out to probably lay into me about not answering my phone!” I shout back, and he slaps me again, except on the other cheek.Fucking hell, that hurts.
“You're a hundred percent right. You don’t have the luxury of ignoring any of us when we literally were just attacked yesterday!”
“You have a tracker on me! What more do you need?” I yell, and he tosses me over the ropes right onto my ass.
“Ouch, what the fuck?” I scream as I climb to my feet.
“Wrap your fucking hands! Don’t act like you are brand new here, Jade, and don’t take me for a fucking moron. I think you forget where the fuck I’ve been this whole time!” he snarls.Damn, is he pissed or what? Well, so am I!
Taking the tape, I wrap my hands with it and throw it at the back of his head.
“All I know is that my dad made you lie to me, to our family, and I have no idea where the fuck you’ve been, so how about you enlighten me, Big Man?” I growl as he wraps his own hands tightly.
“In Ireland, training your men for you!” he spits as he jumps up and down lightly on his toes.
“For me?” I raise an eyebrow and continue on as I circle him. “So, we fake our death, making your wife mourn not only you but our child alone, just so you can be in Ireland training my men for me? Did I get that right?” I ask.
“Not entirely. Some of your questions need to wait for your father to answer,” he retorts, swinging wildly at me. I lean back and sink my fist into his ribs and kick out the back of his knee, causing him to stumble. I push him, making him fall into the ropes, but he immediately bounces back, jabbing me in the chin. My head snaps back, but I straighten my stance.
“I’ll deal with my father later. What did he hold over your head, Dario? You wouldn’t have done this for no reason. Unless you truly wanted out and regretted your decision after time passed,” I accuse, and he growls.
“Don’t fucking say that shit to me, Jade. You know damn well I wanted to be here. You know damn well how much I love you and our family. This is all I ever wanted, so for you to even think I faked my death because I wanted an out is despicable,” he snarls.Oop, I hit a nerve.
He lunges for me, punching me in the chest, knocking the wind out of me for a split second. I rear back, laying punch after punch to his face and ribs as he tries to block me.
Swinging my leg out while he’s not looking, I sweep his legs out from underneath him and he falls hard onto his ass, giving me the chance to climb on top of him and slam my fists against his face. His lip bleeds, but I don’t stop. I just keep hitting him as I scream with tears pouring down my face.
“I hate you for doing this to us. I fucking hate you, Dario Roselli. All the months I prayed this was all a dream and that you would walk in the door and come home to me. The dreams I had of you holding Haven after she died. All the moments you missed with Hazel. I fucking hate you!” I scream, still pounding into his body. “But I fucking can’t help how much I love you. How much I’ve missed you and want you here every fucking day for eternity,” I cry, hitting every inch of his body as he takes everything I am giving him. He reaches up, grabbing hold of my tired arms, restraining them so I can’t hit him anymore. I go to pull away, but he brings me closer as he sits up. Our eyes collide, and I can’t help but sob as he lets go of my hands and I cup his swollen face.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Jade. Don’t leave me, baby. I won’t survive without you,” he begs, bringing his hand to my face while taking one of mine and pressing it against his pounding heart.“I’m alive, baby, and I’m here. I will never ever fucking leave you again. I never meant to put you through all that. I wanted to be here with you every fucking day,” he confesses, and my heart skips a beat as the tears continue to pour. “Please don’t hate me. I can’t take it if you do. I just can’t, Jade. I don’t want to be anywhere else but here with you and our family. Please,” he pleads, and I press my lips against his.
“I swear to God. If you ever leave me again, I will hunt you down and I will kill you myself. You understand me. My heart cannot take it again,” I growl, and he smiles up at me, then shoves his face between my tits and kisses up my sweaty chest and neck before biting down on my chin.
“Never ever again, Jade. I promise,” he says, kissing me with so much love and passion I might explode in his lap. A throat clears next to us, and I look over to see Kane smirking.
“You motherfucker!” I yell as I try to get up, but Dario’s hold on me only tightens, keeping me in place.
“Yo, D-boy, looks like she gave you a good ass-kicking, huh, Lad.” He laughs, and Dario shakes his head.
“If I let her go, you might be next,” he replies, making Kane laugh.Well, what do we have here? A little bromance going on, I see.Dario loosens his grip, and I stand, walking over to Kane.
“Get my father on the line. It’s time for a fucking chat!” I spit, and he nods, taking out his phone, dialing the number and handing it to me.
“Aye,” my father answers.
“Hello, Father. Fancy seeing Dario is alive and well, and your name is coming up as the man who orchestrated the whole thing. Care to elaborate on this?” I snark.
“Good evening, child. I hope you are well,” he answers, and I roll my eyes.
“I’m not well. What the fuck?” I say, and he takes a deep breath.
“Fallon. This needed to happen. I had to know that you were ready to fill my shoes, that you could take on anything that comes your way without crumbling. This was a test,” he says, as calm as a cucumber, which has my jaw clenched so tight I think I may break my teeth. The guy's horse around behind me, making so much noise that I step outside into the sun and sit on the bale of hay.
“And there was no other way to test me other than faking my husband's death. I lost a child, and you still kept him away. How could you do that to me? What do you think Mom would say if she were here right now? Do you think she would agree with your motives?” I ask, and he chuckles.
“Probably not, Fallon. She would’ve kicked my ass and told me to keep you away from the family business, but unfortunately she isn’t here. I don’t always make the best decisions, child, but this, I needed to see it through. Yes, it hurts you, but look at how strong you are. How powerful you’ve become. You don’t need any of those men to succeed. I just—I’m sorry for how it all happened. But I’m not sorry for making you the queen,” he states, and I shake my head.
“Spoken like a true Irish king,” I snide.
